Lyme Disease

New cases of the tick-borne disease have tripled from more than 10,000 infections in 1995 to almost 40,000 in 2009. Ninety-five percent of these cases occur in 12 Northern states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine, and Virginia.

It's caused by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which spreads to humans through bites from infected ticks. Symptoms include a bull's-eye rash, fever, headache, and fatigue. If untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system, resulting complications like arthritis, facial paralysis, and an irregular heart rhythm.

Use bug repellants that contain 20 percent or more of DEET on skin, or ones that contain permethrin on clothing. Some clothes are pre-treated with permethrin and can protect from ticks through 70 washes.

Even these measures can't guarantee a tick won't bite, so hop in the shower within two hours of returning from the outdoors to double-check and wash off any creepy crawlers.

If you find a tick latched on, use a fine-tipped tweezers to steadily lift it off - steady is the key word since twisting and jerking can break off parts of the tick, leaving it in your skin.